Don't Miss This Week's Dazzling Venus-Jupiter Encounter — Now Showing
That will be the time to see the planets at their closest conjunction (the name astronomers give the phenomenon), but if you love the night sky, all this week it will be possible to see them get closer and, next week, to watch them go their separate ways.
Here's everything you need to know about the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter this August 2025.
Where And When To Look
The two brightest planets will be just above the east-northeast horizon about an hour before sunrise all month. Before Aug. 12, Venus will be higher than Jupiter, a situation that's reversed after that date.
What You'll See
Venus and Jupiter will completely dominate the east-northeast pre-dawn sky for the entire month. Jupiter will get closer to Venus, from about seven degrees on Aug. 5 to a mere 0.9 degrees on Aug. 12, then back to seven degrees on Aug. 20. For that final week of the event, you may also see tiny Mercury appear close to the horizon, below Venus, about 45 minutes before sunrise.
Although the close encounter of Venus and Jupiter will undoubtedly peak on Aug. 12, arguably the skywatching highlight will come on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20 when a beautiful waning crescent moon will visit the two planets.
Observing Tips
All you need is your naked eyes to see the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. However, if you do have binoculars, they will be helpful not only to help pick out Mercury in the horizon haze, but also to see Jupiter's Galilean moons — Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa — as bright dots either side of Jupiter's bright disk. However, stop using binoculars well before sunrise to avoid the risk of pointing them at the sun, which is extremely dangerous.
What's Next In The Night Sky
The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter is part of a dazzling "planet parade" taking place between Aug. 10-20 in the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise.
While Venus and Jupiter 'dance' and Mercury rises, Saturn will be high in the south, with Neptune just above it (though not visible). Uranus will be high in the southeast (also not visible).
The closest conjunction of Venus and Jupiter takes place on the same day as the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight on Aug. 12-13, though its rates of meteors will likely dip this year because of a bright moon.
From mid-August is the best time of the year for those in the Northern Hemisphere to see the brightest part of the Milky Way. Use a light pollution map to find a dark sky or visit a Dark Sky Place and look southeast as soon as it gets dark.
For exact timings, use a sunrise and sunset calculator for where you are, Stellarium Web for a sky chart and Night Sky Tonight: Visible Planets at Your Location for positions and rise/set times for planets.
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